Chongqing- An outbreak of Covid-19 hit Chongqing's core districts simultaneously as Chongqing people fight to control several mountain forest fires during an unprecedented heatwave of unrelenting extreme heat. On August 24, the municipal administration ordered nucleic acid tests for all residents in central urban districts to control the quickly evolving pandemic situation.

Chongqing reported 40 new positive COVID-19 cases, 21 symptomatic and 19 unsymptomatic cases on August 23. The Shapingba District, where static management was enforced six days ago, reported 23 cases, over half of the 40 total.

Also, new cases were detected in Jiulongpo, Banan, Dadukou, and Nan'an, all downtown areas, warning of the possibility of large-scale infection in an area of 10 million population.

According to the information released by the government official media on August 23, a large-scale nucleic acid test would be conducted, including all residents in the nine urban center districts of Chongqing (including Yuzhong, Dadukou, Jiangbei, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Nan'an, Beibei, Yubei, Banan, Liangjiang New Area, and Western(Chongqing) Science City).

From 0:00 on August 24, all people in the region received an orange pop-up notification on their health QR code user interface. Certain public areas will be restricted to those with orange pop-up notifications.

When people completed one nucleic acid test on August 24, the orange pop-up notifications returned to a healthy green. Elderly, disabled, chronic disease patients, and special needs individuals would receive home visits for testing.

As of midnight on August 24, the testing had already begun. An iChongqing reporter observed during the day that several temporary testing locations had been set up on the sidewalks in Jiulongpo District.

Citizens are in line in front of a test point at Baguocheng, Jiulongpo District. The hot weather makes some people hold sun umbrellas. (iChongqing/Kenny Dong)

The father of two kindergarten kids, Mr. Long, lives in Jiulongpo District. While working from home today, he took the kids for nucleic acid tests in the afternoon, when it was the hottest.

"It's unlikely that there will be many people at this time since most people do not want to stand under the scorching sun," he said. "In the evening, however, when people prefer to come out, you may have to wait longer to get the test."

"There was a time in the morning that people rushed into the supermarkets to buy supplies," Long recalled. He said that the online delivery remained normal at that moment as he ordered some food materials from Sam's Club in Panlong, Jiulongpo District.

Mr. Long's wife works at Shangqingsi, Yuzhong District. During the temporary road closure, Mr. Long was worried she wouldn't be able to come home.

"I told her to bring a blanket to work in case she had to nap in the company at noon," said Long.

As one of the main streets in Jiulongpo District, Keji-Hongshi Avenue cross at Erlang was enforced road control today. (iChongqing/ Kenny Dong)

One part of Erlang, in Jiulongpo District, became a temporary control area, where traffic was restricted to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Due to the suspension of buses in the region, people who get off work would have to walk one to two kilometers home. Mrs. Li Zefang became one of the long walkers since the control measures were implemented.

"It has been a hard summer, and I hope the fires will be controlled soon. I hope everyone stays safe during the pandemic. Let's work together to protect our home," said Mrs. Li.